combo gig this weekend w 212 OTops & Growlers

[LEVLHED]

This weekend I booked a last minute gig for an organisation I work for often (and belong to)
It's a private function with a keynote-type speaker followed by a dance. The original DJ (also a regular member) pulled out last week so I stepped in.

This will be my second gig with the 3012/melded 212 Otops + 4 x Growlers and the first one where I'm actually going to be DJing with them!
The first hour or less of the dance is going to be a metal-ish band. I will only be micing the kick drums and singer. I don't even think I'll run monitors.
It's not going to be very many people, maybe around 100 tops. The room isn't all that big either. My full rig is undoubtedly OVERKILL, but no one will be complaining;) In the past I've done this gig/room with 2 EV T-18's and 2 JBL MPro 410's and that was capable of going "too loud" as it is.
Overall it should be fun, all the people are my friends.

I think it's kind of cool that it'll be a chance to try things out in three different applications all in one night.

I've got another gig for the same organisation in two weeks at different venue too.

[LEVLHED]

The gig went well. It was a bit smaller than I expected, but there were still "enough" there.
I brought my camera but didn't take even one picture. Dumb, I really need to start documenting this stuff better.

My goodness am I liking the 212 Otops!
The keynote speaker went alright. I used a wireless lav mic and he was easily audible. I didn't like the EQ, but I didn't have much to work with or any time to really tune it. It was acceptable. My first time with the wireless lav actually. I got sick of giving them a handheld that they don't know how to use right, holding it way too far away. (That or the guy that thinks he doesn't need a mic)
The metal band worked out well. Just miced the double kicks and vocal. The vocals came through really well, even though you still couldn't understand anything he was "singing". It wasn't the fault of the speakers though:)
Then, I finally got to DJ with the rig for the first time. It was really smile-inducing.
Typically the other DJ (the one that backed out) does this venue and it's been quite awhile since I did it. The other dude uses 2 dual-15 Sonics set up on a couple of bins where the horns are just over head high and 2 dual-15 subs (Peavey?) set side by side in the middle. It always sounds like booming harsh mud! Not the worst, but really not that great. Just loud. I can't really recall what it was like when I did it with my 2 EV T-18's and 2-JBL MP410's set up in a single "tower of power". I know it was better than the other dude's set up but I don't remember any of the salient details.

Last night those Otops really shined. I had them up on stands a good 15-20 feet apart. I think I need to modify the way they are on the stands though as the kind of tilt back a bit when you extend the stands. Someone had mentioned this to me before, something to look for. This was the first time I put them all the way up on the stands.
My Growlers were stacked 2 x 2 on their sides kinda centred. If I didn't have to make room for the band I'd have tried wall loading them.
I am really really liking the clarity of the Otops, the sound is so clean and defined. The increased dispersion is awesome, the whole space was well covered and you could easily hear everything coming through nice and clear. I've never heard that room sound so good, but given what I've heard in there before I guess it ain't really saying much. I didn't spend a lot of time out in front deeply analysing while I was DJing. I'd periodically do one sweep across the front in the middle of the room to make sure I wasn't killing anyone and to remind myself that it really did sound tight. I thought it'd be overkill in there, but it really wasn't that bad. Single-12 Otops would probably still suffice and be easier to transport, but 212's certainly wasn't over the top like I expected. I was giving them a fair amount of juice too.
I still haven't even EQ'd them with my DRPA, running flat EQ except for what's on my DJ mixer.

[Mark Coward]

I am really really liking the clarity of the Otops, the sound is so clean and defined. The increased dispersion is awesome, the whole space was well covered and you could easily hear everything coming through nice and clear......Single-12 Otops would probably still suffice and be easier to transport, but 212's certainly wasn't over the top like I expected. I was giving them a fair amount of juice too.

Thanks for the report! I'd say that the O-Tops and DR's are "deceptively" loud, because they are so clean it doesn't seem that loud - till you try to have a conversation or something lol. And as you noticed, the dispersion is very even throughout the room.

I still haven't even EQ'd them with my DRPA, running flat EQ except for what's on my DJ mixer.

They'll sound much better after you do so

[LEVLHED]

yeah, I really do need to sort out some EQ.
I've been trying to do some research on how to actually use the setup/wizard on the DRPA but haven't found any well-documented step-by-step how-to instructions yet. Not enough info for me to feel comfortable taking a stab at it and know I won't waste a bunch of time anyway.....

[Bruce Weldy]

yeah, I really do need to sort out some EQ.
I've been trying to do some research on how to actually use the setup/wizard on the DRPA but haven't found any well-documented step-by-step how-to instructions yet. Not enough info for me to feel comfortable taking a stab at it and know I won't waste a bunch of time anyway.....

It's in the manual....if you don't have it, just google it - that's how I got mine. It's very simple. Plug in the RTA mic and hit the button next to it. That brings up the screen for the Wizard. Turn the knob until the volume is where you want it, then hit the right arrow key (I think)....I just kinda' do it without really thinking about it.

It'll run the process - takes awhile depending on whether it set for precision or not.

Here's the link....look on page 7.
ftp://ftp.dbxpro.com/pub/PDFs/Manuals/E ... 790V-B.pdf

[LEVLHED]

Thanks. I knew how to do that much, but when I tried it (once) it simply did not work well. I'm sure I had the mic NOT in the right place. I really didn't know what I was doing, I was winging it and I was under the gun at the time to get things rolling.

What I want to do is just flatten out the cabinets, not really pink/eq a room. Does that make sense? I want to save my "stock" preset with everything EQ'd as flat as reasonable. When I have the need/desire to set up a room or fine-tune then I'll go back in and set.

I've read about people doing this by setting the mic up so it's only reading the cabinet, running the auto-eq, then transferring the eq settings from the GEQ to the PEQ and saving it out that way. Follow me?

I think I know how to do this now, I just have to get the time/space/energy to set it all up and try.

[DJPhatman]

What I want to do is just flatten out the cabinets, not really pink/eq a room. Does that make sense? I want to save my "stock" preset with everything EQ'd as flat as reasonable. When I have the need/desire to set up a room or fine-tune then I'll go back in and set.

Do this OUTDOORS, with nothing around the cabs for at least 56'.
Then use available EQ to work out the room.

[LEVLHED]

that isn't going to be happening any time soon....I'm in frozen Wisconsin.

I was going to try and give this a shot.
http://www.dbxpro.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?t=953

[Bruce Weldy]

that isn't going to be happening any time soon....I'm in frozen Wisconsin.

I was going to try and give this a shot.
http://www.dbxpro.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?t=953

I just did this exercise last Saturday outside to get mine flat....but only because I wanted to get my drum EQ set right. Now when I go inside, I'll run the wizard and I won't have to mess much with the drums as they have been set properly in a flat environment.

So, short of doing that - you don't really have to do it outdoors. Just run it wherever you are going to perform. Put the mic out 15-20 feet or so (use an RTA mic - a 57 won't cut it), or the middle of the dance floor and let the wizard run. The EQ will probably be all over the place, but put on some music and knock off the real big gains and the real big cuts and it will probably sound pretty good.

Now, if you have an additional EQ that you want to use, then by all means set it outside to flat like DJP said and forget it. But, I think you'd be wasting a valuable tool by not using the EQ in the DriveRack to help set up a room.

I wasn't using it because the boosts and cuts were pretty extreme, but now I'm trusting it and it's sounds better quicker than I was able to do by ear - then it's a pretty quick tweak to get it dialed in.

[LEVLHED]

There are two EQ's on the DRPA.
I want to use the PEQ to flatten the system and save it that way, then I'd still have the auto-EQ available when I need it. I want to use the auto-EQ function to figure out what boosts/cuts to make then transfer those settings to the parametric EQ.

If there were an accurate curve available for the 2x12 Omni Top with 3012's and melded array I could just take a stab @ doing it manually I suppose, but I haven't found where anyone has made one yet.
http://billfitzmaurice.info/forum/viewt ... 17&t=13959

[Bruce Weldy]

There are two EQ's on the DRPA.
I want to use the PEQ to flatten the system and save it that way, then I'd still have the auto-EQ available when I need it. I want to use the auto-EQ function to figure out what boosts/cuts to make then transfer those settings to the parametric EQ.

If there were an accurate curve available for the 2x12 Omni Top with 3012's and melded array I could just take a stab @ doing it manually I suppose, but I haven't found where anyone has made one yet.
http://billfitzmaurice.info/forum/viewt ... 17&t=13959

I understand what you want to accomplish and I've considered doing the same thing, however I don't think there are enough PEQs to match the curve that I'm getting on the GEQ when I run the wizard outside. However, might be able to come close - so it's worth a shot. But in the meantime, the wizard will be you to the same place. And since you'll need to make adjustments to every room - you'll probably end up using the wizard every time anyway.

[SeisTres]

I used to use the PEQ's in my drpa for my jacks as I thought that that having the graphic left for tweaks was a good idea. However, I was never happy with the set up as, like it is mentioned above, there aren't enough and dealing with the 31 band graphic was complete hell. So finally i tried to eq my jacks with the graphic. Now they sound much better and I've found that if you use the PEQ's either with a wide Q or a shelving curve, it makes eq'ing to the room/taste MUCH easier.

But if yo're going to be doing it with the rta mic, I would do with that instead as what I described above is done because I do not yet have an rta mic.

Also, for flattening out response near the crossover point, i used a single parametric and this way I can change the crossover points without changing the response of the subs.

[LEVLHED]

Gig last night, about 100 people at most.
I don't have time to post a review now, getting the house sorted for my Super Bowl party!

[LEVLHED]

I had a gig last night in a decent sized room, Sweet 16 with maybe only 40 kids.

I'm starting to see how the 2x12 Otops are clearly overkill. I'm certain single 12s would suffice!
The last two times I've set up I end up dialling the tops back in order to balance with my bass, and my subs are no slouch....

[SeisTres]

I had a gig last night in a decent sized room, Sweet 16 with maybe only 40 kids.

I'm starting to see how the 2x12 Otops are clearly overkill. I'm certain single 12s would suffice!
The last two times I've set up I end up dialling the tops back in order to balance with my bass, and my subs are no slouch....

You could always saw them right down the middle, add a panel to each half, add corners and paint

But really, this is one of my favorite things about these designs. I couldn't care less about adding cabs to get that nearfield effect or making them sound sweeter. But the simple fact that if you need once cab per side or two or three and you know you won't have to worry about combing, dispersion, or flipping cabs upside is so very practical.